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York Region Transit Markham area GO Shuttles
Business Shuttle The Business Shuttle was a shuttle route operated by YRT in Markham, ON. Basic The Business Shuttle mainly served Highway 7 between Commerce Valley Dr. and Kennedy Rd. This route served the Beaver Creek Business Park and Unionville community, connecting it to Unionville GO Station. History GO Transit previously operated a northbound morning train and a southbound afternoon train on the Stouffville Line, to serve the reverse commuters coming from Toronto. The Business Shuttle also connected with some trips from the GO 407 Express service. The northbound morning train was cancelled on January 6, 2003 due to low ridership. The southbound afternoon train was cancelled shortly after, which led to the cancellation of this route on March 3, 2003. Vehicles The Business Shuttle was primarily a 30/35ft route, and used Champion Solo, GM New Look, Orion I or SLF-230. 200 Langstaff GO Shuttle 200 Langstaff GO Shuttle was a shuttle route operated by YRT in Markham, ON. Basic Route 200 mainly served Green Lane, Willowbrook Rd., and Langstaff Rd. This route served the Thornhill community, connecting it to Langstaff GO Station. History Route 200 provided service to an area of Markham not close to any GO stations (Thornhill). Since Langstaff GO Station is located almost directly underneath Highway 407, it is very difficult to walk to the station. This shuttle provided service into the GO station. It was not successful, and YRT ended service on this route in May 2005. Vehicles Route 200 was primarily a 30/35ft route, and used Champion Solo, GM New Look, Orion I, or SLF-230. 201 Markham GO Shuttle 201 Markham GO Shuttle is a shuttle route operated by YRT in Markham, ON. Basic Route 201 mainly serves Larkin Ave., Bur Oak Ave., Wootten Way, and Parkway Ave. This route serves the Markham Village and Cornell communities, connecting them to Markham GO Station. History Route 201 operates roughly on the looping pattern of route 41. It starts/ends at Main St. Markham and 16th, a few blocks from the GO station. Buses follow the 41 loop, divert along White's Hill, Country Glen, Church, through Markham-Stouffville Hospital, 9th Line, Highway 7 and Wootten Way back to Parkway, and a block north on Main St. Markham back to the GO Station, with PM buses reversing the routing. When Bur Oak Ave. opened, buses ran down it instead of Country Glen Rd. In 2007, YRT announced that GO Shuttles would allow passengers to get off before a GO Station in the AM, and on after the station in the PM. This allows people to use them as a regular YRT bus. YRT warns that if the GO train is cancelled, or there are no passengers at the GO station, the run will be cancelled. The aftermath of the 2011-2012 YRT/Viva strike had a negative effect on ridership on this route, as passengers with access to cars would now rather drive to the nearest GO station. Route 201 was declared fully accessible in December 2012. The 2013 Annual Service Plan originally had the 2nd morning trip discontinued and either the 2nd or 3rd afternoon trip discontinued, however the Cornell Rate Payers Association successfully lobbied against the change due to concerns from connecting GO train passengers. Vehicles Route 201 sees a mix of 30ft service provided by E-Z Rider II/BRT/MAX and 40ft service provided by New Flyer D40LF/D40LFR and New Flyer XD40. Route Maps File:York Region Transit route 201-2006.png|2006 - Present 202 Unionville GO Shuttle 202 Unionville GO Shuttle is a shuttle route operated by YRT in Markham, ON. Basic Route 202 mainly serves Rodick Rd., Hollingham Rd., Carlton Rd., and Main St. Unionville. This route serves the Cachet Woods, Buttonville, and Unionville communities, connecting them to Unionville GO Station. History Markham Transit operated an unnumbered Unionville GO Shuttle before amalgamation with YRT. It is presumed that this shuttle started operating in 1998, when the new Unionville GO Station opened, which replaced the old station on Main St. Unionville. As such, it was further away from the community, and would require a bus service to connect it. The route ran from Village Pkwy and Carlton, around Village Pkwy, Buchanan, Glencove, Hollingham, Carlton and Main St. Unionville to Unionville GO Station, with PM buses reversing this routing. In May 2005, the route was restructured to more closely follow route 40, and to extend service to the Buttonville area. In 2007, YRT announced that GO Shuttles would allow passengers to get off before a GO Station in the AM, and on after the station in the PM. This allows people to use them as a regular YRT bus. YRT warns that if the GO train is cancelled, or there are no passengers at the GO station, the run will be cancelled. With Enterprise Blvd. open between Rivis Rd. and Main St. Unionville in April 2010, route 202 was modified to serve Rivis Rd., Enterprise Blvd., and Main St. Unionville to minimize delays on YMCA Blvd. and Kennedy Rd. Route 202 was declared fully accessible in December 2012. Vehicles Route 202 sees a mix of 30ft service provided by E-Z Rider II/BRT/MAX and 40ft service provided by New Flyer D40LF/D40LFR, New Flyer XD40, or occasionally Orion V. Route Maps File:York Region Transit route 202 2010-April.png|April 2010 - Present 203 Centennial GO Shuttle 203 Centennial GO Shuttle was a shuttle route operated by YRT in Markham, ON. Basic Route 203 mainly served Roy Rainey Ave., Raymerville Dr., and Manhattan Dr. This route served the Mount Joy, Markham Village, and Unionville communities, connecting them to Centennial GO Station. History In 2004, Centennial GO Station opened. YRT created a GO shuttle to this station from communities that were north of the GO Station and did not have direct transit service or a safe walk to the station. However, the area south of 16th Ave. was a short walk to routes 40 and 41, who already had a connection to the station. North of 16th Ave., route 18 had a direct connection to the new Mount Joy GO Station, and ran nearby. With these connections also available, YRT cancelled route 203 in September 2005. In 2009, the number 203 was reused for a new route, route 203 Milliken GO Shuttle. The communities this route served were eventually taken over by routes 42 and 45 in September 2009. Vehicles Route 203 was primarily a 30/35ft route, and used Champion Solo, GM New Look, Orion I, or SLF-230. 203 Milliken GO Shuttle 203 Milliken GO Shuttle is a shuttle route operated by YRT in Markham, ON. Basic Route 203 mainly serves 14th Ave., Eastvale Dr., Elson St. and Denison St. This route serves the Box Grove and Milliken communities, connecting them to Milliken GO Station. History YRT's 2009 Service Plan ('Plan09') stated a 203 Milliken GO Shuttle being implemented in April 2009, which would replace the peak hour route 2 diversions to the station. After a 5 month delay, route 203 started in the September 2009 board period, operating roughly on the route 2 looping to Eastvale, then north on Markham Rd. and following roughly the route 2A (now route 14) looping to Riverwalk Dr. December 2009 saw a slight routing modification, with service operating on Elson Rd. both directions. The aftermath of the 2011-2012 YRT/Viva strike had a negative effect on ridership on this route, as passengers with access to cars would now rather drive to the nearest GO station. The 2013 Annual Service Plan originally had the 2nd morning trip discontinued and the 4th afternoon trip discontinued, however this was never implemented due to concerns from connecting GO train passengers. Vehicles Route 203 sees a mix of 30ft service provided by E-Z Rider II/BRT/MAX and 40ft service provided by New Flyer D40LF/D40LFR and New Flyer XD40. Route Maps File:York Region Transit route 203 2009-Dec.png|December 2009 - Present 204 Berczy GO Shuttle 204 Berczy GO Shuttle is a shuttle route operated by YRT in Markham, ON. Basic Route 204 follows the current route 42 routing. It only operates during PM rush and replaces the 4 current train-meets from Unionville GO Station. History Route 204 began service on September 2, 2014, as a replacement for the 4 train-meet schedules on route 42. It essentially operates the same schedule and routing, with the difference being buses would not provide service back to Unionville GO Station due to low ridership. Vehicles Route 204 sees a mix of 30ft service provided by E-Z Rider II/BRT/MAX and 40ft service provided by New Flyer D40LF/D40LFR and New Flyer XD40. Route Maps File:York Region Transit route 204 Sep-2014.png|September 2014 - Present